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Stressed about upcoming work trip...

Hi Ladies-- never posted in this section before so a little background...

My son is 7months old and EBF--we nurse on demand and he gets 3 bottles during the day while I'm at work.

I've been back to work for 4months now and my boss has graciously allowed me to skip out on the required traveling--however we have a trip in March that is absolutely mandatory which will require me to be away for 2 nights, 3 days

I'm stressed about a few things:
* losing ~30oz a day of my freezer stash (how would I build it back up if everything I pump at work he drinks? There's not a lot of extra)
* making sure I pump enough to maintain my supply, including overnight...currently DS wakes 2-3 times per night to nurse
* the affect (if any) this will have on my little guy to not have that comfort of nursing when needed and being with a bottle for 3 days...

I guess I don't really have a specific QUESTION, but rather looking for any advice, reassurance or similar experiences...

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

Not this trip unfortunately.
My first work trip upon returning was to Virginia Beach (we are in MD) and were able to drive. My mom and sister came in 2 shifts to help out--DS was 3months then.

This time its in Ohio and I'm flying-- my mom and husband will both be helping watch him while I'm gone, but neither of them can take off work. Not to mention having to buy a flight

I've thought of every possible scenario and the best my work could do was let me come for this 2night/3day stint as opposed to 3 weeks straight which is what the rest of my co-workers have to do so for that I'm grateful!

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

Re replacing what he eats from your freezer stash... Do you mean, after the trip? Or do you mean stashing enough milk away in advance?

If the former, you can save what you pump while away and bring it back with you. This would go straight to your freezer stash. There was a post here recently about just that topic. Requires a bit of preparation and planning but it's doable. You can arrange for refrigeration of your milk at your hotel, and you can ship it home in dry ice.

If you meant the latter, what's your shortage between your current frozen amount and what baby will need while you're gone?

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

Originally Posted by @llli*mercystreet

Re replacing what he eats from your freezer stash... Do you mean, after the trip? Or do you mean stashing enough milk away in advance?

If the former, you can save what you pump while away and bring it back with you. This would go straight to your freezer stash. There was a post here recently about just that topic. Requires a bit of preparation and planning but it's doable. You can arrange for refrigeration of your milk at your hotel, and you can ship it home in dry ice.

If you meant the latter, what's your shortage between your current frozen amount and what baby will need while you're gone?

Mercy-- you're absolutely right!! LOL, I wasn't even thinking about the milk ill be pumping while away!! Yes, that can go right back to the freezer stash!! Oh man, can you tell I'm tired??

I should have enough for the 3 days in my stash (will check today)

My room has a refrigerator--and I was planning on storing it in my Lansinoh bags and bringing home on plane with me (its only a 1hr flight)

Do you highly recommend shipping it home instead?

Thanks!!

Last edited by @llli*stonesmom; February 20th, 2013 at 06:14 AM.
Reason: Spelling

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

I have never actually done it, only read up on it in case I find myself in the situation -- but yes, you can carry the milk with you while traveling. Its supposed to be exempted from the 3-1-1 rules, along with your ice packs, but gets special screening instead. Here's the TSA policy on it:

That website doesn't specify what the "additional inspection" entails, but other moms have told me that they will ask you to open one of your containers and waive a test strip over (not in) the breastmilk to test the vapors. It might be a little easier to do that with hard containers than the plastic bags, but if you think you can manage it with the freezer bags I can't imagine it would be a problem. You could probably call the TSA ahead of time just to make sure.

In practice it seems like different airports and different TSA employees are not equally knowledgeable about all the screening policies (not just about breastmilk, but about everything -- my mom has some medical issues with liquid/gel Rx meds, and even for her, sometimes they follow procedure with no hassle and other times/places she is put through the wringer). So it might be a good idea to print a paper copy of the TSA policies from the website and bring it with you, just in case you run into any problems.

The shipping on dry ice option is probably just personal preference, if you don't want to deal with bringing the milk through security. Or, if you will be gone long enough that you need to freeze it to prevent spoilage, or the flight itinerary is too long to keep the milk cold in a cooler, the dry ice shipping is the way to go. But those don't sound like your situation.

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

Hi stonesmom, I've been on a number of work trip while my kids have been babies. It's stressful to think about but with proper planning it can all work out just fine. Mercystreet has posted some good information about traveling with the milk. I have carried milk on with me and like she says, they open the containers (in your case, bags) and wave a strip over it. Just let them know as you're going through security that you have breastmilk that needs to be screened. And I think it's a great idea to print out the TSA policies just in case (although personally I didn't have a problem with it, but you never know!). And maybe leave yourself a little extra time to get through security. It's great that you will have a fridge in your room to store the milk.

In terms of pumping during the trip, you want to pump as often as you would normally be pumping and nursing. If you normally nurse 2-3 times/night, than you will probably be very uncomfortable if you skip those sessions (and risk engorgement/plugged ducts), so you probably will have to do some nighttime pumping. During the day, I like to plan ahead and figure out when the breaks in the schedule will be that I can use for pumping, and also where I will be pumping. If you're in a hotel where the meetings are in the same hotel where your room is, it's pretty easy - you can just run to your room and pump. If it's in a larger convention center then you may have to make some other arrangements, like an empty meeting room or office. But generally people are accommodating once you ask, and it sounds like your work is generally trying to help you out.

I also worried about my nursing relationship - ie, would my baby forget me and reject the breast when I came back? One of the trips I took was when my second baby was about the same age as your baby is now. When I came back she gave me a curious look like, "I know this person, but I'm not totally sure..." I sat down, offered the breast, she nursed avidly and then gave me the hugest smile ever! At this point your nursing relationship is well-established. I don't think your trip will interfere with that. As for having the bottle for a few days rather than the breast - your mom and husband will be watching him while you're gone - two people that he knows and loves. Babies are adaptable. He will be fine! Just as he is fine with whoever it is who watches him during the day while you work.

Re: Stressed about upcoming work trip...

i was away last week on a work trip for 4 nights/5 days from my almost 5 month old. i wasn't able to keep up my normal pumping routine, not as often and not overnight. i just pumped when i could. kept the bags in the hotel fridge and came home (carried on the plane)with nearly 100oz. since i've been back she's been nursing like a champ and i went back to my normal pumping schedule while i'm working and everything seems to be right on track. i think the only one it affected was my husband because he had to wake up in the middle of the night to give her a bottle.
the only advice i have is to not worry too much. if you carry it back let security know before hand. you'll be fine and so will baby